Who wants to be led by someone who’s burnt out? That’s the question I asked myself in 2024 - and why I kept pushing through and pretending I was fine. Until everything nearly broke.

In part two of this interview, I’m back with psychologist and friend Sabina Read to unpack how I came out the other side of the hardest year of my professional life.

We talk about what finally pulled me out of burnout, how I rebuilt trust inside Inventium, and the ripple effects of radical transparency. I also reflect on the shadow side of long tenure, the cost of silencing my instincts, and the surprising moment I knew our culture had truly shifted.

If you’re leading a team, facing change, or quietly wondering if you’re the problem - this episode is for you.

Sabina and I discuss:

• The shift that helped me rebuild confidence after burnout

• Why tenure can quietly sabotage growth and innovation

• How I nearly missed a 7-figure opportunity (and what changed)

• The difference between radical transparency and oversharing

• What helped our team go from fractured to thriving

• Why metrics matter - but they’re not enough

• The cost of hiding how hard things really were

Key Quotes

• “Hope is not a strategy - but that’s what I was relying on.”

• “If just one person doesn’t feel psychologically safe, that can do a lot of damage.”

• “Radical transparency means being honest in a way that serves your team.”

Connect with Sabina via her website, Instagram, or check out her podcast Human Cogs.

My latest book The Health Habit is out now. You can order a copy here:
https://www.amantha.com/the-health-habit/

Connect with me on the socials:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amanthai

If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at https://amantha-imber.ck.page/subscribe

Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.

Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au

Credits:
Host: Amantha Imber
Sound Engineer: The Podcast Butler

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Work-life balance. We’ve all heard the phrase — but how do you actually achieve it? And more importantly, is it even possible when it feels like everything’s urgent and important?

It sounds simple: prioritise your tasks and sort them out. But the real challenge lies in knowing what truly matters. In the whirlwind of competing demands from work, family, and life, how do you decide what gets your time and attention?

In this Quick Win episode, I revisit a powerful conversation with Ariel Garten, neuroscientist, entrepreneur, and founder of Muse — to unpack her refreshingly honest approach to prioritisation in the face of constant demands.

Ariel and I discuss:

• How Ariel approaches prioritisation from both a big-picture (annual/quarterly) and micro (daily) perspective

• Why value-based decisions matter when you’re torn between business, family, and personal needs

• The relief of having some decisions made for you, and accepting the limits of your time and capacity

• How embracing imperfection and setting boundaries can actually create more meaningful opportunities

Listen to the full interview with Ariel here.

Connect with Ariel via LinkedIn, Instagram, and X (Twitter). Learn more about brain training and mindfulness with Muse and listen to her podcast Untangle.

Save 15% on the Muse headband when you shop here and use the code HOWIWORK at checkout.

My latest book The Health Habit is out now. You can order a copy here: https://www.amantha.com/the-health-habit/

Connect with me on the socials: Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber)

Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/amanthai)

If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at https://amantha-imber.ck.page/subscribe

Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.

Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au

Credits:

Host: Amantha Imber

Sound Engineer: The Podcast Butler

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I got leadership wrong in 2024. That’s how I started a newsletter earlier this year that scared the hell out of me to publish. In this episode, I share what happened - and the high cost of indecision, fear, and people-pleasing.

Today, I’m turning the mic on myself. I’m joined by psychologist and friend Sabina Read to unpack the personal and professional fallout of the hardest year I’ve had as a leader.

From delaying redundancies to clinging to hope, to letting fear and likability steer my decisions - I share the choices I regret, what I learned from them, and how I’m showing up differently in 2025.

Sabina and I discuss:

• Why I refused to consider redundancies (and what it cost)

• How fear, not strategy, drove my biggest decisions

• The freeze response I didn’t realise I was stuck in

• What my therapist told me that sent me into a spiral

• How psychological safety broke down on my team - and what we do now to protect it

• The cultural check-in we do every 6–8 weeks to catch small issues before they explode

• Why listening deeply matters more than making the “right” decision

• How I started letting go of the need to be liked

Key Quotes

• “Hope is not a strategy. But that’s what I was relying on.”

• “I had a very high need to be liked—and that was making me a really bad manager.”

• “You can’t rest on your laurels with culture. It takes conscious work.”

Connect with Sabina via her website, Instagram, or check out her podcast Human Cogs.

My latest book The Health Habit is out now. You can order a copy here:
https://www.amantha.com/the-health-habit/

Connect with me on the socials:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amanthai

If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at https://amantha-imber.ck.page/subscribe

Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.

Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au

Credits:
Host: Amantha Imber
Sound Engineer: The Podcast Butler

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.